Knowledge, attitudes and socio-environmental practices in students of the Autonomous University of Guerrero, Mexico

Abstract

This research analyzed the level of environmental education that students have in the high school of the Autonomous University of Guerrero, were considered variables on environmental knowledge and training, how to act on socio-environmental problems, environmental practices, perception of the complexity of socio-environmental problems , degree of environmentalisation in the curriculum, attitudes and pro-environmental behaviors developed during the teaching-learning process. The objective of this research was to explore the knowledge, training, attitudes, and pro-environmental behaviors that high school students have, based on the teaching-learning acquired during their stay at the educational center of the Autonomous University of Guerrero. The method used was eminently quantitative, and the variables were analyzed through the Likert scale, which is a field research method that allows measuring the opinion on a topic through a survey that identifies the degree of agreement or disagreement of each question, using 5 categories for this research. The results indicated that their knowledge and practices on environmental issues range from "scarce" to "regular"; they usually know how to deal with the socio-environmental problems that surround them; it was observed that they have a little perception about the complexity of current environmental problems, the study showed that students have limited awareness to act, care and protect their socio-environmental environment, with a low interest in solving environmental problems at the local level, which is reflected in the results of the environmentalization variable in the curriculum, which ranges from "scarce" to "regular". It was concluded that the students' perception does not impact on positive actions in favor of the environment and that these actions benefit the educational centers and their community. The data from this study coincide with other research similar to this one, where the same conclusion has been reached, knowledge and awareness have not been enough to develop pro-environmental attitudes, it is necessary to put and implement responsible actions, with an adequate methodology to propose activities that help to solve current environmental problems and that these actions are reflected in the benefit of the environment in which the students work.